ARTHUR J RITCHIE

Art Ritchie, a wood worker and resident of Fairview Park, OH, passed away suddenly after a brief illness on Monday afternoon at Fairview Hospital in Cleveland, OH. Arthur J. Ritchie "Art" age 73, beloved husband of Marilyn (nee McLaughlin); loving father of Kate Blakley (Don), Jeff Ritchie (Jean Owens), and Carrie Ritchie (Kyle Peck); grandfather of Alexa Blakley ,Owen Ritchie, and Tessa Ritchie; all siblings deceased; son of the late Elmer and Evelyn Ritchie. Born in Southington, CT, Art played high school football and attended Quinnipiac College where he earned an Associate Degree in Respiratory Therapy. He began his career at Bristol Hospital where he met Marilyn, a nurse. In 1971, the two attended an art show at Mystic Seaport where they witnessed a wood carving demonstration that would change his life. Discovering his true passion Art left the medical field to become a self taught wood carver. Later, while restoring a carousel figure for a client, Art envisioned creating entirely new carousels. This led to the founding of Carousel Works, Inc with partner Dan Jones. After relocating the business to Mansfield, OH they would go on to be the first company to create a hand carved, hand painted wooden carousel in the U.S. since World War II. Carousel Works, Inc went on to manufacture nearly 60 hand made carousels and restore over 50 antiques carousels back to full working order. Their work can be seen and enjoyed all over the world. Art would never accept "no" or "impossible" as an answer to anything. As a dreamer and visionary, he could always somehow see ahead of everyone else when it came to new ideas. His favorite phrase was "Never let school interfere with your education." Living by this mantra, with a work ethic that was unmatched, he taught himself engineering schematics, 3D architectural drawings, mold making, 3D molding, 3D printing, vinyl detailing, and Autodesk programming. He was even awarded Autodesk Inventor of the Month in his sixties. Art implemented these new technologies and ideas at Carousel Works to bring a lost art form into the 21st Century. Beyond his work Art had a deep love for auto racing, dogs, Jazz and Blues music, exploring parks and small towns and swimming in his backyard pool. But above all, he loved his family more than anything and his grandkids were the joy of his life. In lieu of flowers the family has set up the "Art Ritchie Memorial Fund for Lakewood High School ART DEPARTMENT" Please use the link below and find the donate button at the bottom of the page. https://www.payschoolsevents.com/events/details/40256 His celebration of life will be at The Aviator 20920 Brookpark Road Cleveland , OH 44135 Saturday, August 9 12:30-3:30 PM www.ZMFH.com Zeis-McGreevey Funeral Home and Cremation Service
16105 Detroit Ave. Lakewood, OH 44107
(216) 221-0220